Valves are used extensively by industry in controlling the flow of fluids, by example oil and gas, from a storage facility to an end use application. The flow of the fluids may be controlled by valves located on pipelines, on transport trailers, or by valves on fluid storage tanks at a refinery or at a convenient fluid distribution center. As can be appreciated, when the fluid does involve oil and gas, the environmental protection officials, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), requires that the supplier of the oil and gas fluids take the proper precautions to lock the valves on the oil tanks and tanker trailers to avoid vandalism and accidental spills. While lockout devices are known, see for example the ball valve lockout device covered under U.S. Pat. No. 5,003,797, and illustrated at page 132 of BRADY, Signmark Division's, Catalog S-13, Effective February 1993, these known structures are detachable, costly, and do not encourage usage, either because of the cost, or because the device are not attached to the valves for immediate use when the need arises to lockout a valve.
Thus, a need is seen to exist for a valve lockout device that is more suitable for long term applications, rather than the shorter term maintenance lockout devices. A need is seen for a simple valve lockout structure that is designed for being installed on the valve to promote an immediate, and readily accessible use. A need is also seen for a simple valve lockout apparatus that is not costly, and which promotes availability and use to meet EPA requirements.